


Secret Santa

by TrekChik



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Office AU, Secret Santa, bucky has no idea what to get his boss, who is the hottest thing he's ever seen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 08:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27348079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrekChik/pseuds/TrekChik
Summary: Darcy is entirely too cheerful for a cold and dreary December day and Bucky isn’t having any of it. It had snowed the night before. Not enough to be pretty—just enough to be annoying. Which had made getting to work this morning more treacherous than usual.“Come on, everyone! It’s time to choose your Secret Santa name,” she announces as she traipses through the office. “To the conference room!”Bucky groans and reluctantly gets up and makes his way to the conference room. This is so not what he wants to be doing. He hates forced camaraderie. It’s one thing to share a cake for a birthday, it’s another thing entirely to be compelled to participate in the office’s Secret Santa.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 17
Kudos: 92





	Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

> I hit 2,222 followers on Tumblr, so I decided to write a 2,222 word fic to celebrate. Art by www.lamthetwickster.tumblr.com. 

Darcy is entirely too cheerful for a cold and dreary December day and Bucky isn’t having any of it. It had snowed the night before. Not enough to be pretty—just enough to be annoying. Which had made getting to work this morning more treacherous than usual. 

“Come on, everyone! It’s time to choose your Secret Santa name,” she announces as she traipses through the office. “To the conference room!”

Bucky groans and reluctantly gets up and makes his way to the conference room. This is so not what he wants to be doing. He hates forced camaraderie. It’s one thing to share a cake for a birthday, it’s another thing entirely to be compelled to participate in the office’s Secret Santa. 

Once everyone is gathered into the conference room, Darcy passes out pieces of paper for everyone to write their names on. She takes off her beanie and instructs them to fold up the pieces and drop them in her hat. 

“Now, if you pick your own name, put it back and draw again,” she says. 

Bucky does his best not to roll his eyes, but drops the paper in the hat. With his luck, he’ll get his boss’ name. And that would be The Worst thing that could happen with this stupid ritual. Why? Because he has a crush on his boss. Steve Rogers is easily the most attractive man Bucky has ever seen up close and personal. 

When Darcy stands in front of him with her hat, grinning widely, Bucky reaches in to pull out a name. 

Steve. Of course.  _ Fuck my life,  _ he thinks. He tucks the paper into his pocket. What is he going to get his boss? 

“Okay,” Darcy says when all the names have been drawn. “We all agreed on a twenty dollar limit and no White Elephant gifts. When you’re ready to wrap your gift, let me know and I’ll give you paper, so no one will be able to guess once we do the exchange. Make sure you print out a name tag so we can’t tell your handwriting. We’ll exchange on Christmas Eve.” 

Bucky goes back to his desk and sighs. He looks at the paper again. Steve. What the hell is he going to get his boss? And for a twenty dollar limit? Maybe a bottle of wine? A few airplane bottles of liquor and a can of Coke for a DIY Long Island Iced Tea? He really has no idea. 

When he gets home that night, he sees the printed out gift card tacked to his fridge for a company called Uncommon Goods that his mother had given him a while ago.  _ Score,  _ he thinks. He can use that for the gift for Steve. There wasn’t much on the site that intrigued him, but maybe he can find something his boss would like. 

He sits on the sofa with his take-out Chinese—it was a shitty day, sue him—and his computer. He navigates to the website and quickly finds that they have a section for gifts under $25. Perfect. 912 items. Yep. This is going to take a while. He sets the computer on the coffee table and gets to scrolling while he eats. 

Twenty minutes later, he’s finished his food and is not even one iota closer to finding a gift for Steve. There were a couple of coffee-related items he could possibly see, but they’re out of the price range of the Secret Santa. 

Although. If he uses his gift card, he could technically spend more because he wouldn’t be spending his own money, right?  _ Sure. Let’s go with that,  _ he thinks. He quickly searches for the two items he thought about and adds them both to the cart. With the gift card and before tax, he’s spending $16.95, which includes shipping. He lets the computer auto fill his payment and shipping info and hits the “place order” button. 

Done. 

~oOo~

“Okay, everyone,” Darcy yells to the office. “It’s time for the Secret Santa gift exchange!” Everyone takes their identically wrapped gifts and places them in a box just outside the conference room door. As they filter into the room, Darcy hands each of them a paper cup of unspiked eggnog. 

Bucky really wishes there was alcohol in it. 

Darcy drags the box into the room and begins to hand out the gifts, reminding them not to confess who gave what gift—not even at the end. All gifts are to remain anonymous. Bucky’s gift appears to be an envelope wrapped in the Christmas paper. He furrows his brow at it thinking that someone copped out and just got him a gift card to Starbucks. At least he knows he can use it, and he won’t have to fake enthusiasm at some unwanted tchotchke. 

As they open their gifts, laughter fills the room. Some of the gifts are spot on, others less so, but still enjoyable. No one is fessing up to being anyone’s Secret Santa. Bucky watches Steve as he opens the box he put his gifts in. 

“Oh, wow,” Steve says as he opens the box. “Whoever got this, thank you! I love it!” Bucky sits up a little straighter knowing that Steve liked the classic  [ Greek New York coffee cup ](https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/ceramic-greek-coffee-cup?gclid=CjwKCAjw8-78BRA0EiwAFUw8LPXmmurQ5CYMosA2hChPSpcJtD4ugxqHMMIshUt4qAeOn-VMWTIJjhoCvFEQAvD_BwE#143390000000?country=US&utm_source=google%20surfaces&utm_medium=organic&aw_cid=418702497&aw_aid=23036126097&aw_dev=c&aw_loc=9009640&aw_key=&aw_mtype=&aw_net=g&aw_ad=89994005337&aw_pos=&aw_shopid=143390000000&aw_prod_partid=740773989027) and  [ merlot infused coffee beans ](https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/merlot-infused-coffee?_br_psugg_q=merlot%20infused%20coffee) . 

As Bucky opens his gift-wrapped envelope, he’s prepared to see a gift card, but is surprised to see that it’s a simple white envelope. What he finds inside takes his breath away. Inside is a ticket to  _ Hamilton  _ for that very night. There’s no way this cost $20 or less. He looks up and around the room, but he can’t figure out who gave him the ticket. Whoever it is has obviously paid close attention to him as he is almost always singing one song or another from the musical. 

“Thank you,” he says to the room, not wanting to divulge his extravagant gift. He tucks the ticket back into the envelope and places it on the table in front of him. He takes a swig of the eggnog, wishing once again that there was alcohol in it, but this time for an entirely different reason. 

~oOo~

Bucky checks his outfit in the mirror for the umpteenth time. It’s been years since he’s been to a Broadway show, and he can’t remember how dressed up he’s supposed to be. He opts for a black suit and tie with a dark green shirt. He chooses a red pocket square for that little pop of Christmas. 

He’d scheduled a Lyft earlier in the day, so he heads downstairs to meet his driver, wrapping himself up in his dress coat and scarf against the cold. He climbs into the Lyft, greeting his driver. They make small talk for a couple of blocks then fall into silence. 

As the car gets closer to The Richard Rodgers Theatre, Bucky’s heart rate picks up. He can’t believe he’s getting to see  _ Hamilton.  _ He’s tried a couple of times for the Ham4Ham promo but no dice. And he certainly can’t afford to pay StubHub pricing for it. 

When the car stops in front of the theatre, Bucky tips his driver and carefully exits the car. Stupid snow. He looks up at the marquis in awe. He’s here. He’s really here. 

“Bucky!” 

Bucky turns to see Steve calling out to him. “What are you doing here?” he asks. 

He thinks he sees a bit of a blush creep into Steve’s face. “Well, I wasn’t going to let you see the show alone, right?” He holds up his own ticket. Bucky spies the seat number. It’s next to his. 

“You’re my Secret Santa! But how did you—” Bucky waves his arms around, indicating the entire situation. 

“Would you believe I came down here for lunch and won the Ham4Ham lottery?”

“Not in the slightest,” he says, grinning easily.

“How about that my ex bought these tickets months ago? I got them when we broke up.” 

“Okay, now that I believe. You still went over the $20 limit.” 

‘Well, technically, I didn’t. He bought them. He didn’t care about seeing the show, though. Just did it to impress me. So, I didn’t pay anything for them.”

Bucky nods. “All right. I’ll allow it. But as long as we’re confessing things, you were my Secret Santa, too.” 

“Really? That’s funny. I love the cup, by the way. I can’t wait to try the coffee.” 

“I just hope it’s good.” 

Steve glances at his watch. “Shall we?” he asks. 

“Surely.” 

~oOo~

By the time Phillipa Soo is singing about that damned orphanage, Bucky is full-on crying. That part gets him every single time on the soundtrack, but to see it live is something else entirely. He doesn’t even realize that he has gripped Steve’s hand as he sits there, transfixed by the performance. 

With the final gasp of breath from the actor, the curtains come down and the audience is on its feet, having exploded into applause. Bucky has to pause clapping to wipe his face, but his tears subside as the audience begins to filter out of the theatre. 

Once outside again, Bucky is like a little kid. “Did you  _ see  _ how they did that choreography?” he asks, as if Steve wasn’t right there with him the entire time. “It was perfect! No wonder it won all the awards.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Steve says, smiling at him. 

“Liked it? Steve, it was the best thing I’ve ever seen!” 

“You ready to call it a night, or do you want to go get a drink somewhere? Sardi’s is right there,” Steve says, pointing to the restaurant. 

That sentence sounds very much like the ending to a date to Bucky. He idly wonders if Steve thinks the same thing. “I could go for a drink,” he says. 

“Great! Come on.” Steve holds out his hand to Bucky who only hesitates a moment before taking it. They cross the street and make their way to the restaurant. 

It’s crowded, but it always is after a show, even on Christmas Eve. They luck out in finding two spots at the bar and they each order a scotch, Bucky following Steve’s lead. Their conversation turns to the office, of course, and what their plans are for Christmas Day. Bucky will be spending the day with his family, Steve with his mother since it’s just the two of them. 

After their second drink, Bucky starts to feel all warm inside. After his third, he’s a little worried that he might say something stupid to his boss, but Steve doesn’t appear to be worried. In fact, he seems to be having as good a time as Bucky. A good enough time that he doesn’t move Bucky’s hand when it touches his thigh. 

They stop after the third round and settle the bill. Steve steps in to pay, insisting that it’s not a big deal and that Bucky can get the bill the next time. 

The next time. 

Steve just implied there would be a next time. God, Bucky would like that. Another date. No, this wasn’t a date, right? Just two guys seeing a show and getting a drink. 

Sure sounds like a date. 

Bucky shakes his head free of that thought as they wander back out into the cold New York night. “I should call for a Lyft,” he says. 

“Don’t,” Steve says. “Let me take you home.”

Bucky blinks. “What?”

Steve fumbles for his words. “I, uh. I mean. It’s late on Christmas Eve. Let my car service take you home.” 

“You have a service?” Bucky asks dumbly. And a little slurred. 

“I do.” Steve pulls out his phone and quickly makes a call to his driver to come pick them up. “Just tell me where you live, and we’ll take you home. Safe and sound.”

And really, that does sound nice, getting to spend a little bit more time with Steve. “Sure,” he says. “Take me home, Steve.” 

He can’t be sure, but he thinks that Steve’s breath catches a bit at that. Nah. Couldn’t have been. Bucky’s just tipsy and projecting what he wants onto the situation. 

But the car comes and they pile into the back. Bucky tells the driver his address, then Steve closes the partition between them. They fall into silence. 

As Bucky watches the lights fly by, he feels Steve take his hand and he looks at where their fingers are now joined. “Whatcha doin’?” he asks. 

“Bucky, look. I’m going to say something completely out of line. I… like you. A lot. And I think the feeling is mutual.” 

Bucky stares at him, mouth dropped open in surprise. He can only nod his affirmation. 

And with that tiny bit of permission, Steve leans over and kisses him. Bucky’s insides light up and he kisses back. When they pull apart, they can’t help but smile at each other. 

“I’d like to take you out again,” Steve says, his hand cupping Bucky’s face. 

“And I’d let you.” 

“Good. What about Sunday? I’ve got tickets to the Giants. We can bundle up and get hot chocolate and—”

“I’d rather do that at home.”

“Home it is. I’ll email Clint and see if he wants them.”

Bucky can’t help but lean in for just one more kiss. “Sunday,” he says, pulling apart. 

“Sunday.”


End file.
